The present invention relates to an apparatus for distributing annular workpieces on a plate, the plate being provided with a plurality of bolts protruding from its surface to each accommodate and hold one workpiece in its desired position.
In order to economically mass produce relatively small vulcanized rubber objects, use is made of a vulcanizing tool which is adapted to the size of the vulcanizing press and is provided with a plurality of individual nests for the objects. For example, one such vulcanizing tool can be used to produce several hundred lip sealing rings of the type required to seal the valve shafts of internal- combustion engines.
While, due to the flowability of the raw rubber, the rubber material can be simply injected through channels and nozzles into the cavities of the nests for the objects, such sealing rings must have reinforcement rings of metal, for example, vulcanized into the rubber material and these reinforcement rings must be introduced into the cavities of the nests for the objects before the vulcanizing tool is closed. This is done by manual distribution of the metal pieces, which is extremely time consuming.
In order to prevent excessively long opening times for the vulcanizing tool, it has already been the practice to place the metal pieces onto a plate which serves as an auxiliary tool and which is provided with a number of rows of bolts protruding from the plate surface and arranged to correspond to the pattern of the nests, each bolt being provided to hold and arrest one respective annular metal piece. For example, by placing the corresponding vulcanizing tool plate onto the auxiliary plate provided with the metal pieces and then pivoting both plates by 180.degree. it is possible to insert the metal pieces into the nests of the vulcanizing tool in a very short time. However, placement of the metal rings onto the auxiliary plate is itself a time consuming manual operation.